If Books Could Kill
The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds
Episodes
How one comedian's offhand advice launched a decent TV episode, a mediocre book and a terrible movie.
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- Our Patreon
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- Peter's newsletter
- Peter's other podcast, 5-4
- Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase
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Did you know that in the split-second it took you to read the title of this episode, your subconscious already figured out that it was going to be extremely good?
Peter and Michael talk about Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink," a book that is mostly cute scientific anecdotes but also indirectly resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars being wasted on fraudulent science.
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This is most of the episode but if you want to hear the last 20 minutes, support us on Patreon!
Last episode we met two Princeton political scientists who are bad at virology. Today we learn that they are also bad at political science.
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Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?"
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By popular demand we are releasing last month's Patreon bonus episode on the main feed! We chart the transformation of the lab leak from an unfounded theory promoted by right-wing cranks to an unfounded theory promoted by liberal journalists.
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Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency.
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Are you a single lady struggling to find love with a man? Don't fret! A twice-divorced game show host who thinks conversation is for women is here to help.
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Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists and must reassert their manhood by supporting an authoritarian regime. And on the left, users of social media are often very irritating to people who write airport books.
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Sour...
Peter and Michael dissect Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass," a book that answers the question: What if "The Secret" was written in the painful, try-hard style of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck"? Featuring a surprise digression about Sincero's other, even worse books.
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In 2004, historian Thomas Frank proposed a theory about the rightward drift of the white working class. Was he a prescient king whose work presaged the rise of Trump — or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis? Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain.
Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode!
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Peter and Michael discuss the book that launched the phenomenon of New Atheism and asked the question: What if we hated Muslims, but in a secular way?
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What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey.
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New York’s favorite criminal is in the news, so here is our episode about his ridiculous life.
To hear all of our bonus episodes, support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss.
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it.
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Is social media to blame for the teen mental health crisis? It's complicated!
Thanks to Emily Weinstein, Amy Orben, Andrew Przybylski, Dean Burnett, Michael Mullarkey and Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz for help researching and fact-checking this episode!
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To celebrate ("celebrate") Donald Trump choosing JD Vance as his running mate we are re-releasing our "Hillbilly Elegy" episode. Enjoy!
Peter and Michael discuss "The Origins of Woke," a glimpse into the dark aspirations of the Republican Party and the mind of a very unusual man.
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